Conference: Russia’s crushed stone market 2017

Date:
June 15–16, 2017

The 4th international conference «Russian crushed stone market 2017», held in Moscow on June 15-16, has successfully concluded its work.

«Modern Mining and Crushed Stone Production Technology. Innovative Approaches and Equipment» session is supported by SCANIA.

«Rocks and Aggregates Transportation. Challenges and Solutions» session is supported by Promnerudtrans.

Tradicia-K is the official partner of the conference.
The conference is supported by: Bohnenkamp AG, Volga-Urals Transport Company.

Jim O'Brien, honorary president of the European Aggregates Association, opened the conference with an overview of the trends in the European and global rocks and aggregates industries. The globally-recognised expert pointed out that Russia has overtaken Turkey, France and Poland in terms of production output over the past two years, trailing only Germany. «Our goals and objectives are common, and the experience exchange will benefit everyone,» he said and offered his assistance in collaboration with leading European associations.

Public officials, crushed stone producers and transport operators broached the establishment of an Aggregates Association in Russia more than once throughout the discussions.

Alexander Kostin, head of the FAS division for construction materials and consumer goods industry, sent a clear message regarding the need for creating a strong Aggregates Association in Russia, as government agencies’ resources are too scarce to enable them to act as industry regulators. He said that the association can help the market players and authorities reach compromise on tariff policy, haulage and pricing.

Olga Lukerchik, board chairman of the centre for methodology, normalization and standardization in civil engineering, supported the initiative to create an Aggregates Association. In her speech Ms Lukerchik emphasized the need for regulating the industry and for mandatory planning crushed stone production and consumption. According to her, recoverable resources are non-renewable, hence the full life cycle of materials and construction projects ought to be tracked. Ms Lukerchik also said that construction materials classifiers should be properly handled and particular attention should paid to regulations and standardization.

Anatoliy Kuzhel, deputy head of traffic management central directorate of the Russian railways (RZD), pointed out to the seasonality of aggregates railway deliveries. He said that over 50% of the crushed stone is delivered by rail and despite the stiff competition from the water and road transport, the RZD remains the leading carrier of aggregates. According to Mr Kuzhel, aggregates can be shipped along 220 routes yet only 134 of them are actively used. Mr Kuzhel also supported the idea of establishing a regulator for the aggregates industry, enabling the RZD, operators and crushed stone producers to address complex issues together as well as raising the collective awareness.

Andrey Gromovoy, director general of Promnerudtrans, made a presentation about the main trends in the crushed stone delivery market. Mr Gromovoy said that marketing policy should become the founding principle for operators services value generation. The currently imbalanced pricing policies are isolating the Russian North-West from the rest of the market. Mr Gromovoy suggested in his speech that a balanced pricing policy by region and by aggregates cargo type should be developed.

Antonio Bianco, director of ABICert, then spoke about pricing the crushed stone produced under the European standards. He also talked about profitability calculations for quarrying under the European economic model. Another presentation focussed on the European standardization system and ongoing training for industry professionals.

Mikhail Pokataev, first deputy director of Glavnaya Doroga [Main Road] company, called for drawing on the experience gained in Europe. He believed that this would allow for at least a twofold increase in the time between repairs. Mikhail Pokataev also pointed out that the Russian certification system has been going through continual changes unlike in Europe, where all adhere to uniform standards. He added that market monitoring and communication to each market player should be essential tools of competent and committed to quality authorities.

Following the conference, a resolution to resolve the industry issues is being drafted.

TESTIMONIALS:

«The event was totally successful. The team is really powerful, professional and committed to quality.»
Antonio Bianco, Director of ABICert (certification company).

«I want to thank the organizers for the opportunity to listen to European experts and to share experiences.»
Mikhail Pokataev, First Deputy Director of Glavnaya Doroga [Main Road] company.

Your ideas and suggestions about the next conference’s agenda are very welcome at +7.495.745.07.40 or info@maxconf.ru